


Chasing Destiny

by crazyDCchick



Series: The Ivy Jackson Series [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/M, Male-Female Friendship, possibly friends to lovers, possibly something more, we'll let the story decide, wrestler/manager relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-09-23 23:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyDCchick/pseuds/crazyDCchick
Summary: Ivalyn "Ivy" Porter has been a fan of professional wrestling since she was six years old. She loved watching the over-the-top characters, especially the ones that stayed outside the ring like Jimmy Hart, Sensational Sherri, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Miss Elizabeth. Ivalyn was fascinated with how they could get a crowd riled up and push their superstar to victory, and even championships.After seven years on the independent circuit, and four different characters, at the age of 25 Ivalyn now has the chance to work in WWE on the NXT roster. But moving to the big leagues is going to prove a bit of a challenge, especially when the company decides to pair her with the rising star of NXT.





	1. Dream Come True

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I did NOT expect this to happen, but here we are….. Don’t you just love it when you create a character just for the heck of it and a story just hits you straight in the face? And you didn’t even mean for it to happen. That’s how Ivy came into being. Created her in WWE 2K19 because my brain was like “You should totally create a character that could be an equalizer ringside for ya boy Finn, maybe even the Demon Queen?” And look where we are… sometimes I just want to curse my brain for thinking of so many stories and hanging onto them for so long I cannot help but write it out. I’d like to get the story up to current day events on RAW, but that’ll take some time. 
> 
> So let’s start this story off by taking it way back to January 2015 and NXT. Enjoy!

 

I stood outside the WWE Performance Center in awe. My long, black coat billowed around my legs as the brisk winter wind flared up, whipping strands of my jet black hair into my face. But it didn’t phase me. I was standing outside of the one place I had only dreamed of being since I was six years old.

My time had finally come! After working my ass off in the indy scene for seven years, I finally got my contract deal in November and two months later I’m officially reporting in for my first day of “training”.

And I use that term lightly.

See, I’m not normally an in-ring competitor. I’m a manager who somehow gets pulled into doing matches with whoever it is I’m managing. It was just for laughs the first time I did it back on 2008, but then it became a part of my gimmick. If I was pulled into a match, I would just copy the moves I saw my wrestler do. It wasn’t until late 2009 that I started taking the gimmick seriously and developed myself as a competitor as well as a manager.

Apparently, I had skills and the promotions loved using me in multiple facets, having a few runs as a competitor. At least I got to choose my entrance music whenever I was solo…

But I digress.

I walked into the performance center ready to get to work when I ran into Matt Bloom.

“Ah, Miss Porter. Welcome!” He extended his hand for me to shake.

“Hello Mr. Bloom. Thank you again for this. It really means a lot.”

He shook his head. “Don’t mention it. And no need for formalities here.”

I nodded. “Yes sir, Mr. Matt.”

He chuckled. “Alright, so have you thought about what are we going to call you?”

I smiled. “Well, there were two names that went over well with the crowds back in the indies. So I was thinking about combining them. Ivy Jackson.”

“I remember hearing about the Miss Jackson character. She was….”

“A bitch.”

“I was going to say snotty and egotistical, but that works too. I’m guessing Ivy was the opposite of Miss Jackson.”

I nodded. “She was the calmer side of things, but the more confident of the two. If I could get a solid combination of Miss Jackson and Ivy, then I think my character will be pretty solid. Assuming she’ll match well with whoever y’all decide to pair me with.”

“About that. We narrowed our list of potential superstars for you to manage down.”

“Really?”

Mr. Bloom nodded as he handed me a list of names. “You’ll get a chance to say hi to them and get a feeling of whether or not you’d click with them later today. They’re all training right now.” I looked at the list and was surprised at the options. Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake, Tyler Breeze, Hideo Itami, and Finn Balor.

The name that caught my attention the most was Finn. I was a fan of his work back in NJPW and thought he had a great range with his character. He was fascinating to watch in the ring. And don’t get me started on that demon persona of his.

Blake and Murphy were a solid tag team, Tyler is one of the strongest heels in NXT which would be interesting character-wise for me, and Hideo was a strong in-ring competitor. But I was looking forward to meeting Finn the most.

Mr. Bloom showed me around the performance center. When we got to the ring training area, I froze in my tracks as I looked at one of the rings. Right in the middle was Hideo sparing with Finn. Now that was a match I would kill to see. I stepped closer to the ring to get a better look. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from what was happening in the ring.

I could tell Mr. Bloom was behind me, but my focus was on the squared circle in front of me. A dream match. If their sparing was any indication as to what an actual match between them would be like, it would blow everyone’s socks off.

After a few minutes, both Hideo and Finn were leaning against the ropes on opposite sides of the ring, both had ginormous grins plastered onto their faces. Mr. Bloom started clapping behind me, which shook me out of my trance and scared me a little.

“Fantastic work gentlemen.”

Finn and Hideo looked at Mr. Bloom, who had stepped around me and was leaning against the ring apron. They walked over to him as he gave them a few pointers on a few things he saw.

After a quick handshake, Finn looked up and we made eye contact for the first time.

“Ah, ‘ey there.”

I smiled. Well, I think I smiled at him anyway. I felt frozen in place at that moment. I  watched as Finn jumped down from the ring and stood in front of me. His baby blue eyes met my stormy grey ones and he smiled again.

“You must be Ivalyn. A pleasure to meet ya.”

He extended his hand for me to shake. I blinked a few times to clear the ice that froze me in place and shook his hand.

“Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Balor.”

“Call me Finn.”

Mr. Bloom placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder as he and Hideo joined us. “We’re thinking of possibly pairing her with one of you two  once she’s ready for her debut.”

“Ah. So, ya might be learnin’ my style of wrestling?”

“Pardon?” I asked, my head cocking it to the right.

“Ya tend to learn the style of the wrestler your managin’ and then copy it in matches later on, right?”

“You know about that?”

Finn chuckled. “I may have looked ya up after WWE announced ya signin’.”

“I’m honored,” I said while trying to hold back a blush I felt coming. “I’m quite a fan of both of you, so being able to work alongside either of you would be amazing.”

Hideo approached me and extended a hand. “Welcome to WWE, Miss Ivalyn.”

I shook his hand. “Call me Ivy.”

After a few more minutes of talking, Finn and Hideo made their way to the showers as Mr. Bloom continued to show me around. I eventually met Blake and Murphy in the weight room and Tyler as he was leaving the locker room on his way to lunch.

After the tour and meeting everyone that was there, Mr. Bloom and I sat on the ring apron of one of the training rings. I looked around at the facilities in front of me, still in awe.

“Initial reactions?” Mr. Bloom asked.

“About the Performance Center? Amazing. About the superstars I might be managing? Let’s just say I don’t see myself managing a team right now. I did that back in the indies and that team did not last long at all after I started managing them. Plus it’s harder to get the chemistry ringside right unless you can get along with both wrestlers.”

“So it’s either Breeze, Itami, or Balor, then.”

I nodded.

“Alright.” Mr. Bloom got down from the apron and turned to look at me. “I’ll tell management and we’ll go from there.”

He shook my hand and left the room. I stayed sitting on the ring apron, admiring my surroundings. Even after spending hours here, it still didn’t feel real. I climbed into the ring and walked around inside it, feeling the ropes under my hands. I felt at peace inside the ring. I climbed one of the turnbuckles and sat on the top one, facing the inside of the ring. From the corner, I could see the entire room. Seven rings, a ramp, and a few people walking past the area on the opposite side of the room. I heard a big laugh and saw Finn walking past the room with Sami Zayn. Finn looked up and waved. Sami looked my way and waved as well. I waved back, probably hesitantly. They both looked at each other before making their way to where I was.

“Hey,” I said as they approached.

“What ‘cha doin’ up there?” Finn asked.

“Just taking in the scenery.”

Sami climbed onto the ring apron on my right and walked over to me, extending a hand. “Sami, nice to meet you.”

I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too, Sami. I’m Ivy.”

“Just Ivy?” Finn asked as he climbed onto the ring apron on my left.

“Full name is Ivy Jackson.”

“Combining names, I see,” Sami said.

“You know about me too?”

Sami nodded. “Quite a few of us looked you up when your signing was announced.”

“How many?”

Both Finn and Sami shrugged. “A few,” they both said. I rolled my eyes at them.

“Any plans for lunch, Ivy?” Sami asked.

I thought for a moment. “None that I know of.”

“How ‘bout ya join us for lunch, lass?” Finn asked.

I looked between the two men. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” Sami said.

I shrugged before I jumped down from the turnbuckle and turned towards them. “Well, if you two insist. I would love to.”


	2. Budding Friendship

It’s been three weeks since I had lunch with Sami and Finn. Since then, my time in the Performance Center has been taken up by meetings after meetings. All I wanted to do was to find that one superstar that I clicked with and work with them already, but there was a lot more that needed to go into my prep before I was even able to be put on TV, let alone talk about who I’m going to be paired with.

I needed a new look to match my new name. Something that wouldn’t seem outlandish if I was paired with Hideo or Finn but something that could easily be bumped up to being on par with Breeze’s look. The eyebrow, nose, and bottom lip piercing just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. But, to be honest, I’m glad I’m getting rid of those. The piercings just remind me of a dark time in my life, so to be able to take them out after so many years makes me feel already like a new me.

The one that is the hardest to part with, however, is the belly piercing. I got that just before my life turned upside down in 2008. I was at my happiest when I got it, but now… let’s just say I love it and am going to miss it but it’s necessary. The piercings and the punk rock attitude that my character has been portraying hasn’t felt right in a long time. I’m getting a fresh start. I need something new.

During a meeting, someone suggested I dye my hair back to its natural red, but I managed to shoot that down fast. There was a reason why I dye my hair black, and I was not about to change it. I never was a fan of my red hair and I just barely decided to just accept the freckles and stop hiding them under so much concealer.

“I’m fine with the piercings going, but the hair stays,” I told them. No one has brought the hair up since then. It’s now day three of finalizing who Ivy Jackson is going to be and honestly, I think the NXT crowd is going to love it.

* * *

 

After my last meeting ended, I sat in the center of the same ring I talked with Sami and Finn that first day. I took a deep breath and lied back, arms and legs stretched out. My eyes closed as I felt myself relax. Tomorrow I was going to start my first promo class and finally starting to figure out who I’m going to be paired with. 

Corporate has this crazy idea that Breeze needs an edgy lady by his side right now. While it would be fun to be a heel again, I never did have too much fun keeping it up outside of the arena. When I would leave the building and head back home, I couldn’t find it in me to keep up that bitchy attitude that she had. I went from Miss Jackson back to Ivalyn Porter in .2 seconds flat. So just thinking about what I would have to do to keep up a heel character with Breeze made me nervous.

Why did corporate seem so stuck on pairing us together anyway? It’s not like he needs someone by his side to boost his self-confidence any more. What would be the point? Was I supposed to be the Sherri Martel to his Shawn Michaels? 

I was deep in thought when I felt someone get into the ring. I opened my eyes to see Finn looming over me.

“‘Ey there stranger,” he said with probably the slyest grin I’ve ever seen on the man before. “Been a while since I saw ya last.”

He extended his hand and helped me stand back up. 

“Been in meetings,” I said as I straightened out my shirt. “You know how those are. Figuring out who you’re gonna be and what you’re gonna look like. Fun stuff.”

Finn chuckled. “A necessary ting to be honest. But I’d just warn ya now, tings most likely will change before you debut.”

“Don’t they always?” 

Finn looked away from me as he thought for a moment before he shurgged. “True,” he looked back at me, “but the best ting is when one slight change makes your personality come to life.”

“Like the Demon?”

Finn chuckled. “Yeah, like the Demon.”

There was a silence that fell over us in that moment. Neither one of us made any notion to speak, we just looked at one another. I could feel myself slowly getting lost in his blue eyes when his hands moved to scratch at his jaw. He looked away shyly as he did that, breaking the trance we both were in.

“So, uh… got anyting else today?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing else.”

Finn made eye contact with me again, a slightly more confident look in his eyes. “Well then, how ‘bout you join me for dinner? I’ll pay.”

I looked at the watch sitting on my right wrist and saw it was just after five p.m. I wasn’t super hungry, but how could I say no? Free food? Always say yes.

“Why not?” I said as I shrugged. We walked out of the building and I noticed Finn walking to his red Mini Cooper. My black 2013 Veloster was a few cars in the opposite direction.

“Uh, Finn?”

“Yeah?” He turned around, almost at his car.

“We didn’t talk about where we were going to eat.”

“Oh…” Finn rubbed at his neck. “Well.. uh… I kinda figured dat you would join me in my car and we would figure it out once we got in…”

I felt my cheeks slightly heat up.

“Oh… ok.”

I started walking to his car and got in the passenger side. Finn started the car and pulled out his phone. “So, whatchya in the mood for today?”

I sat and thought for a moment.

“I haven’t had good ramen in a bit.”

“I know the perfect place.”

* * *

 

Thirty minutes later, we were sitting at JINYA Ramen Bar. Both of us were silent as we looked at the menu and ordered. I’m not sure if it was a good idea or not for me to have ordered us a bottle of their sake, but I’m sure an Irishman can hold his alcohol.

After the waiter brought us the sake, I poured a cup for each of us and raised mine.

“Kampai,” I said.

Finn smiled and raised his cup. “Kampai.”

We finished at the same time and made eye contact, catching us both off guard. For some reason, I found this funny and started laughing. Finn chuckled as he poured us both another cup.

“So, Ivy,” Finn said as he finished pouring my cup, “Sami and I were lookin’ at your Wikipedia page a few weeks ago, and I’ve been wonderin’. Why’d you choose ta go black? I mean, it looks great on ya, but the red did too.”

I looked at my cup for a moment. “I needed a change in appearance. That red hair I grew up with was something I never really liked about me. So when I decided to rebrand myself, I decided to go black. Plus I was going through a few things and listening to some really emotionally heavy music at the time. Got some piercings and really just embraced the whole look, ya know.”

Finn nodded. “Meetin’ ya a few days ago, I wouldn’t of pegged ya as a gothic type.”

“Emo,” I corrected him. “I was heavily into that genre and just that whole world at the time. I mean my entrance music was  _ I Don’t Care  _ from  _ Folie à Deux _ . Being closed off worked at the time, plus my attitude wasn’t really the best, so being this bitchy character who could care less what everyone thought about her was a sort of release for me. I probably came off more punk than anything else, but it worked.”

I took another drink and noticed my phone vibrate on the table and saw a new message pop up. The moment I saw the name, I felt my blood boil.

“ _ Laisse moi seul connard _ …” I mumbled, reaching for the sake bottle. But Finn grabbed it before I could.

“Someone botherin’ ya, lass?”

“No one I can’t handle,” I said reaching for the bottle in his hand. He moved it a bit farther away.

“It’s still botherin’ ya. Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you, a therapist?”

He shrugged, bringing the bottle back down onto the table. “I can be if ya need.”

I rolled my eyes at him, but sighed after a moment. I really want to be his friend, but would telling him my life story really be a good idea? Last time I did that it almost backfired in my face.

I looked down at my cup and rested my hands on either side of it, not sure if I should. After a moment of silence from me, I felt Finn place his hand on top of mine. I looked up and met his blue eyes.

“I want us to be friends, Ivy. You can trust me.”

“You sure you wanna know?”

“Positive.”

I sighed again as I pulled my hands away. I took a moment to collect my thoughts when our food arrived. We thanked our waiter and started eating. I looked at Finn for a moment and knew that I could trust him. I just didn’t want to scare him away or make him feel pity towards me with everything. My life hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. It’s been almost the exact opposite of that since 2001.

“I’ll tell you,” I said, catching his attention. His blue eyes met mine. “But not right now.”

He nodded and we finished our meal, only small talk taking place the rest of our time there. Once we finished and paid, Finn suggested we walk to the nearby park and talk. Soon we were sitting on the bank of Lake Eola on the little peninsula. I looked out at the water and admired how the setting sun looked as it reflected vivid colors or red and orange on the rippling blue water.

“So, is there someon’ dat needs ta be taught some manners?” Finn asked. I chuckled as I laid back on the grass and looked up at the sky.

“No. More like he needs to fuckin leave me alone and stop trying to guilt me into things.” I heard the grass next to me shift. I glanced over and saw that Finn was lying next to me and looking at the sky as well.

“An ex?”

I couldn’t help the snort laugh that came from me when he said that. “God no. He’s way too old for my liking. And plus that would be quite gross considering he’s technically my step-dad.”

“I see where dat would be a bit gross.”

I rolled my eyes as I laughed a little. “Anyway, we haven’t talked since my mom passed in ‘08. He wanted nothing to do with me and I felt the same. I never liked him and he didn’t like my choice in job or the fact I was into wrestling. But once he got wind that I was signed by WWE, he’s been trying to ‘reconnect with his only daughter’.”

“Money?”

“Yup. He’s wasted about 80% of what my mom left for him and tried for a while to get the court to let him keep what she left for me, claiming that he was supporting me. So now that his step-daughter is under contract with a big company, he thinks he could just waltz right on in and play the ‘I had to pay back all those hospital bills and now have very little left to live off of’ stick.” 

After a few moments, Finn spoke up.

“I’m sorry ‘bout your mum. Is your dad still around somewhere?”

“My mom is with him. He passed back in ‘03. Car accident.”

Finn placed a hand on top of mine.

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it’s like not having your parents around. Just living in another country is hard on me already and I’ve been doing it for eight years.”

“You get used to it. Plus it never felt like they weren’t at any big events or matches I ended up having. I knew they were there, front row, watching me.”

“What’re their names?”

“ Rían and Madeleine.”

We laid there in silence as we watched the sun set. Eventually, we made our way back to the PC, where Finn dropped me off at my car. Before I got in, I walked over to Finn’s side of his car and he rolled down his window.

“Thank you for dinner, Finn. And for listening. Means a lot.”

“Anytime. And seriously, if ya need anyon’ ta be taught a good lesson, just call.”

I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Will do, Finn. Thanks again.”

I started to turn away when he spoke up again.

“Fergal. My friends call me Fergal.”

I turned and looked at him. He had a soft smile on his face and I couldn’t help but smile in return. 

“Fergal,” I said, testing it out. I thought for a moment. “Can I call you Ferg?”

He nodded. “Just don’t call me Fergie.”

I laughed. “Fergie? Really?”

“Don’t start,” Ferg said, trying not to laugh as well.

“I promise, no ‘Fergie’.”

I waved as I got into my car. The newest Fall Out Boy album started blaring as I turned my car on and backed out. As I headed home, I couldn’t help but feel both excited and hopeful for my future with NXT as I called up my uncle and told him about the past few days. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oops…. Didn’t mean to post one chapter then ghost like that. College has been quite the undertaking this semester. Normally I’d be able to write this in my spare time, but that’s now been taken over by my thesis project. I’m writing a novella (or short novel) that’s based in the wrestling world! All original characters and no mention of WWE or any current/former superstars. So writing that whole world practically from scratch has taken up a lot of time recently.
> 
> Hopefully, this long chapter with backstory to Ivy will tide ya over! I’ll try to update this as often as I can but there won’t be a set upload day or time. Whenever the next chapter happens, it’ll happen. I’ll also be including some screenshots of Ivy here soon so y’all can see more of what she looked like with the red hair and all the piercings.
> 
> Until next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> That’s the end of this chapter. It feels like a weird place to end, but I could keep going and this chapter ends up being well over 2,500 to 3,000 words. Like the tags say, I’m not sure if I want Finn and Ivy to be in a more romantic relationship once we really start going, so I’m going to wait and see how it plays out. Let me know what y’all think about it!  
> This story is only going to have about three to four chapters in it to help set Ivy up with the NXT crowd and end with Finn’s match against Breeze at Takeover Unstoppable, but I’ll start the next story right where Takeover leaves off. Thanks for reading and I’ll see y’all soon!


End file.
